Red
by TheMostExcellent
Summary: Zuko's coronation brings him more than just a crown. (Short story)
1. Chapter 1

Katara appraised herself in the mirror.

The sight of her smooth, olive skin and her crystal blue eyes comforted her. They were indubitably Water Tribe features and she couldn't hold her head high enough to show her pride. The rest, however, were definitely not customary of her culture.

Her dark hair was loose and free of any hair loopies. Her cheeks were dusted with a bit of blush and her lips were a shade pinker than usual. Most notably, her modest blue tunic had been replaced with a very crimson and see-through negligee. She wore a silk robe over it, of course. She intended for it to be a surprise.

Katara took a deep breath and smoothed a non-existent wrinkle on her robe.

Katara and the whole gang were currently at the Fire Nation for Zuko's coronation. After Ozai's defeat, Aang and Zuko had wasted no time returning to their respective duties. Zuko, with the help of Iroh, focused on reinventing the role of the Fire Lord and steering his nation towards the right direction. Aang, having successfully saved the world from falling into further chaos and despair, retained his role as a mediator and a peacemaker. He proceeded to lend Zuko his wisdom and support and God knew the banished prince sorely needed it. There had been several attempts on his life already and he hadn't even ascended the throne yet.

The rest of Team Avatar had been proactive in helping restore peace as well. Katara aided Aang in all his endeavors while Toph and Sokka put most of their energy into rebuilding their homelands and public morale. Suki, Ty Lee, and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors had been appointed by Mai as the Fire Lord's main bodyguards.

They still had a long way to go before peace can be fully achieved but the war's outcome had given everyone a renewed sense of purpose.

Katara quietly opened the ornate door to her chambers. Poking her head out to check the halls for unwanted presence, she quickly slipped out with a glass of red wine in one hand and a slip of paper on the other. The Royal Palace was so huge and painfully uniform on the inside that Katara had to write down the directions from her room to Aang's so that she wouldn't get lost. She knew that Aang was placed in a room next to Zuko's to make it easier for the guards to protect both of them.

_One...two...three...four...ugh. What could Zuko possibly need a hundred rooms for?! Okay, focus Katara. Keep going. Turn left on the second hallway, not the first. _

Past the 8th room, Katara finally saw the second hallway on the right side. When she turned the corner, she was confronted with yet another hallway lined with more doors. The sconces that were supposed to illuminate her path were dimly lit so she had to walk slowly. Not to mention, she had already imbibed quite a few glasses of red wine and was a bit tipsy.

Yes, yes, she was usually the responsible, maternal figure in their circle. But they just won a freaking war didn't they? She deserved some sort of respite. Tonight, she wanted to do something daring, something uncharacteristic.

She was going to lose her virginity to Aang.

It sounded like an impulsive decision but she knew that it wasn't. She needed to know how to move forward with their relationship. She loved Aang. But how much? And in what way? When they had been traveling together, it seemed that she had tried to fulfill several roles. She had been Aang's best friend, sister, mother, girlfriend...but who was she truly? When they finally join together, surely she would know wouldn't she? Tonight was the perfect night. They were too busy and frustrated before the war and they were going to be too busy and even more frustrated after Zuko's coronation. She didn't know when she would get another opportunity like this.

Upon finally seeing a bunch of men clad in red uniforms, Katara knew she had reached her destination. The guards stood in front of two identical doors.

"I need to see Aang," Katara voiced, willing any one of them to answer her.

A guard posted in front of the right door replied. "We apologize. The Avatar has retired and will not be seeing visitors until morning."

Katara pressed on with an innocent smile, "I'm his girlfriend. You see, I was actually planning on surprising him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"I apologize, Miss Katara. It is late and we cannot risk letting in any visitors at this hour, especially since the Fire Lord has just been crowned."

Katara's face flushed a deep shade of red. She knew deep down that the guard was only doing his job but alcohol has a tendency to impair a person's judgment. All she could focus on was that she was Aang's most trusted friend and he was a fool to insinuate that she would purposefully put his life in danger. "I have to see Aang and you will let me in now!"

"I'm sorry -

Unfortunately for them, there was a full moon that night. Katara knew that her bending was at its peak (which was probably why she was feeling quite exhilarated and unstoppable at the moment). Drawing from the energy of the moon, Katara bended the moisture from the air into a decent water whip and knocked the guards out. "Sorry about that."

Katara entered the chamber to the right. The room was enveloped in darkness so Katara had to feel her way around the room. When she touched something soft, she guessed that she had found Aang's bed. After drinking the last of her wine and setting the glass on the floor, she crawled into the bed. As soon as he felt the bed shift, Aang shot up from his supine position and grabbed the Waterbender's arm.

"Hey, hey, it's me, Katara."

Bringing herself closer, Katara immediately began leaving a trail of kisses along Aang's neck and shoulders.

"Katara," Aang began, his voice husky and visibly laced with sleep. "What are you-

Katara silenced him with a kiss and she could tell that he was taken aback. When she nudged his lips with her tongue with the intention of deepening the kiss, he acquiesced by swirling his tongue with hers. Katara ran her hands across his chest and over his hard shoulders as she kissed him, liking the feeling of his soft skin. Finding herself wanting to go further, she brought his rough hands to her breasts and started straddling him.

She felt him freeze.

"Katara, please stop," he pleaded weakly.

Katara ignored him and kissed him some more. She let her hands caress his face and lace through his soft hair.

Her hands were about to descend to his pants when she realized, _Hair? Aang does not have hair..._


	2. Chapter 2

Katara has had quite a few "Oh shit" moments in her life but none quite prepared her for the sobering realization that she had just made out with Zuko. _Zuko_ of all people!

"Oh god, Zuko, I'm so sorry! I thought you were -

"Aang," Zuko finished. "Yeah, I know, I figured."

Katara felt Zuko shift as he said this and a fire soon ignited in the fireplace snuffing out the darkness of the room and unveiling their flushed faces.

Their eyes automatically landed on each other's as soon as the room became illuminated. It was startling to Katara because she had never really seen Zuko up close. She had never noticed how beautiful his amber eyes were or how smooth his skin was despite his scar. Actually, never before had she really looked at Zuko with anything but disdain or doubt because she wasn't comfortable feeling anything else about him. She could hate him for being a Fire Nation royal and for being responsible for the demise of her people because it was justifiable. She could doubt his intentions and words due to his past transgressions and it was also justifiable.

But was she allowed to look into his amber eyes and feel her cheeks get warmer? Was it okay that she did not feel sorry when she realized that she had kissed him instead of Aang? Should she feel guilty for wanting to kiss him once more?

Her gaze drifted to his lips. He was always sneering before he joined their group so she never really thought about it, but he was rather handsome.

Placing her hand on his scarred cheek, she gently caressed his face. "Zuko, I-

"ZUKO! Are you okay? Open up!"

Aang's muffled shouts and incessant knocking startled the two. Katara was almost sure that he had heard the commotion when she knocked out the guards and had decided to check out the situation.

"Shit!" Katara cursed as she frantically searched for another door or a window. "What do we do?"

"You're just gonna have to hide," Zuko told her. "Go to the closet!"

The Waterbender was barely able to squeeze in Zuko's closet when Aang blasted his door open with some airbending. "Zuko! Is there an intruder? What happened to the guards outside?"

"Huh? Oh uh, I, uh, um...sleepwalk sometimes. I think I knocked them out while dreaming. They'll wake up."

Zuko wanted to slap himself on the face for offering such a miserable excuse but he never was good at thinking quickly on his feet.

"Oh," Aang pondered this for a moment. Zuko held his breath as he watched the wrinkle that had formed between Aang's brows get deeper by the second. _Please believe me_, he repeated frantically in his head. _Please believe me_.

"You never sleepwalked when we were traveling."

_Shit. _He knew that was coming.

"I'm just, uh, anxious about the coronation. That's all."

"Oh, okay, that's understandable. Did you want me to show you some meditation techniques?"

"No," Zuko replied quickly. "I mean I'll be fine. Thanks."

"Are you sure?" the Avatar pressed on. "Monk Gyatso taught me these techniques so they really work."

"I'm alright for now Aang," Zuko replied impatiently. "But thanks anyway."

"O-kaaay," Aang said in a sing-song voice. "If you say so. I guess I'll go back to bed then."

Zuko breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the click of his door. Aang could be quite inquisitive when he actually paid attention, he was the Avatar after all. The last thing that he needed was for Aang to find out that he had been making out with his girlfriend. It had taken him a lot of effort to gain Aang's trust and he was not going to throw away that achievement for a girl.

"You can come out now," he told Katara.

Katara poked her head out to make sure that Aang was gone before slowly emerging from her hiding place. She, too, breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't as if she had kissed Zuko on purpose but she still felt guilty. Aang had already questioned her feelings once and the fact that she was now questioning her own feelings too was scaring her.

Zuko was with Mai and she was with Aang.

She was just confused, that's all. Nothing that fresh air and space away from Zuko couldn't remedy.

"Well, I should get going too," Katara offered lamely.

"You should probably..."

"I should go to bed..."

"...stay here."

Katara looked expectantly at Zuko as she fidgeted with the edges of her robe.

"Just in case he's still outside," the soon-to-be Fire Lord quickly added. "He's probably still awake. You can leave before the sun rises."

Katara opened her mouth to say something, that perhaps that was not such a wise decision, but none of her words were coming out so she simply nodded.

"Here," Zuko patted the silk-covered pillow right next to his own. "You can nap for a bit if you want. I'll wake you up when it's safe to go back to your room."

"Alright. But don't wake me up too late," Katara said as she slipped hesistantly under Zuko's matching silk blankets. "Toph will be able to sense us together if she ever wakes up."

"I won't. Don't worry."


End file.
